This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention. The following discussion is intended to provide information to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that statements in the following discussion are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems utilize mirrors to concentrate the sun's energy onto points or lines. For the purpose of explanation, we will assume a parabolic trough type system where the parabolic mirrors concentrate the sun's energy onto a fluid filled tube; the hot fluid is then transferred to a more conventional steam turbine power plant or similar system to generate electricity. Reliable support for the large parabolic mirrors is critical to ensure excellent performance (focus) in varying atmospheric conditions and to guard against mirror breakage. Some of the key issues include overall frame deflection from its own weight, that of the attached mirrors and wind loads. Prior art for Solar Trough designs relied on steel fabrications and weldments or aluminum extrusions configured and joined using techniques developed in the building construction industry. We used our experience in building safety critical structures from aluminum extrusions (ladders, staging and scaffolding) and our extensive extrusion industry tooling and operational knowledge and coupled this with the load and performance requirements for solar trough frames; we used structural engineering and Finite Element Analyses (FEA) to design a more optimal solar trough frame—minimum weight, efficient production processes (extrusion, fabrication, subassembly and final assembly) with the end product designed to meet all weight, wind, temperature and torsional loads expected.